Discontinued scents that DO/DO NOT worth a premium.

Most of you would agree that fragrances like Havana (I own this one) or Donna Karan Fuel (I have never sampled it) in general worth the amount of money asked in the market.But it could not be easily justified to pay about 130 Euros for a bottle of,let's say,Heaven by Chopard (I have never sampled it,but I think,for unknown reasons,that I have to have it ).
Then,you could propose some discontinued scents that fit into each category.
Cheers!

Re: Discontinued scents that DO/DO NOT worth a premium.

Worth the effort:

All of the Helmut Lang fragrances are worth it, although they have been discontinued for a short enough time that they still aren't absurdly overpriced ($40-60 usually). These include Helmut Lang EDC, EDP, and Cuiron.

CSP Safranier (Sultan Safron) is another really good one. It, too, is fairly easily obtained with just a little extra searching, although it is discontinued. It's by far the best safron scent I've come across.

Not worth the effort:

Yohji Homme is one I go back and forth about. It's a neat fragrance, but I don't know if it would be worth paying much more than retail price. It's gourmandy, but not as light as Hanae Mori (which seems a VERY wearable gourmand) and not as dark and heavy as New Haarlem (which is almost delectable).

One I think is definitely NOT worth the effort is Jil Sander Feeling Man. People talk about how wonderful this one is all the time and, while I think it's a neat fragrance, if I spent $100+ for it, I'd be really disappointed. It smells like an 80's designer frag, definitely not a lost masterpiece.

Re: Discontinued scents that DO/DO NOT worth a premium.

Discontinued scents ... along with any other discontinued retail item ... have value only to someone willing to pay for it. Just the fact that it's discontinued and expensive seems to always add to it's mystique. Especially the expensive part. I remember some years back when Reebok released the "pump" sneaker. The CEO was saying how the $200 + price tag created a lot of "excitement". They made their money until people realized it was just another crappy Reebok sneaker with a little gadget "pump" inside. And just look at the Beanie Baby craze a few years back. The ridiculous prices people were paying for them and now, even though most are discontinued, they're nearly worthless.

On a different note, my personal opinion is that looking at the prices of some Creeds, Serge Lutens, L'Artisans, and Bond No. 9's that are mediocre at best ... I'll gladly pay $150 + for my DK Fuel because I love it. However, some others like Balenciaga Pour Homme, Tiffany for Men, and Patou Pour Homme ... I wouldn't pay anything because I just didn't like them.

Re: Discontinued scents that DO/DO NOT worth a premium.

My SotD, Iquitos by Alain Delon is the equal of Czech and Speake No.88 for rose-led masculine frags.

I also thought it shared similarities with that another discontinued classic JHL. I've only worn them a couple of times each, but on that basis I would say that I wouldn't pay a huge sum for JHL (he says donning a tin hat )

Re: Discontinued scents that DO/DO NOT worth a premium.

Originally Posted by michaeld39

My SotD, Iquitos by Alain Delon is the equal of Czech and Speake No.88 for rose-led masculine frags.

I also thought it shared similarities with that another discontinued classic JHL. I've only worn them a couple of times each, but on that basis I would say that I wouldn't pay a huge sum for JHL (he says donning a tin hat )

Yep, I forgot to mention Iquitos on my list, but I agree with you it's one worth finding. Sometimes, you can find a bottle VERY reasonably (in the $30 range), but those bottles are quickly disappearing.

Re: Discontinued scents that DO/DO NOT worth a premium.

It will be a great loss if Helmut Lang -Cuiron is not brought back at some point. I have half of a 3.3 ounce left and two back up 1.6 ounce bottles. One of my most complimented frags.

I'm with you, Barry. My biggest hope is that, since Helmut Lang was purchased by a new brand to be relaunched this spring, is that they will also relaunch the fragrances (I have no idea if the purchase price also included the fragrance licenses or not... but I sure hope so) The Lang scents are, to my nose at least, among the most interesting designer fragrances of the past ten years or so.

Re: Discontinued scents that DO/DO NOT worth a premium.

In my opinion, JHL is definitely not worth it. It's a bad version of Opium EdT for Men. The EdP version of Opium doesn't smell that much like either, and I think it's the best of the three. Opium (I think it's discontinued) EdP is definitely worth the money.
- Rich

As always, disregard most of what I say. It's not worth your heart health to actually worry about what a 23 year old guy from Kansas thinks. Even if he is really ridiculously good looking.

Re: Discontinued scents that DO/DO NOT worth a premium.

Lately I have been on a discontinued fragrance trip. I try to find a mini or a sample tube if I can. I have been caught unawares by buying a whole bottle blind to find I can't stand the frag. This happened with Iquitos. Had to wash the stuff off quickly. I became nauseated. Out of the Ungaro's I found number II to be the most wearable for me. I liked Jil sanders background but none of the other jil sander scents.

JHL I love and also Jules. Giogio of beverly hills and giorgio vip seem quite similar in my opinion. The VIP seems slightly softer and more refined. Not quite as sharp. Phantagarow " my swap partner" thought giorgio smelled like soap to him. I think derby is worth it as well as patou and patou prive. Fuel is definatly worth the bucks.

I definatly like some of the discontinued stuff better than alot of the niche stuff that is out there. Of course I will never stop sampling, and sampling and sampling. Oh well. You get the Idea.

Re: Discontinued scents that DO/DO NOT worth a premium.

Originally Posted by _R$_

Recommended. Even if you don't like it, you can sell it online for an easy $85. Or you could swap it to some of the people on this board who like it a lot.
- Rich

Like Azsmells says, I see JHL at Bloomingdales all the time. I really don't
think it's discontinued. Good grief, if I could take the hassle of
packing and shipping I could make a profit selling it on Ebay using
a retailer as my supplier.

Re: Discontinued scents that DO/DO NOT worth a premium.

I'm a big fan of many discontinued scents such as Havana, DK Fuel, and Balenciaga Pour Homme. However, I wouldn't pay more than $100 for any of them. If you look hard enough, you could find good deals on just about any frag.